


Candy is the Cure

by MalMuses



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Coda, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 20:23:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14268828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalMuses/pseuds/MalMuses
Summary: A short Gabriel/Sam one shot, post 13x17.





	Candy is the Cure

The bunker fell suddenly quiet once Dean and Ketch disappeared into the rift.

Sam looked at the slightly pulsating tear in space for a few moments before he sighed, shaking his head and turning back to the silent archangel huddled in the chair next to him.

Well… not entirely silent. Reaching very slowly towards him, returning gently to take the last few scraps of tough thread from Gabriels’ lips, Sam detected the first clear noise the tortured angel had made; a tiny, terrified whine in the back of his throat.

“Gabriel….” Sam paused in his cutting, removing his touch from Gabe’s shoulder and holding both of his hands up where his fearful brown eyes could see them. He could see Hell in the man’s expression. “It’s okay…. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe now. I promise, Gabe.. you’re safe.” He leaned in slightly, trying to hold the angel’s eyes and push his words home.

Gabriel gave a tiny nod. He closed his eyes while Sam snipped the last couple of stitches. They few back open with a jerk as Sam brought a soft damp cloth to his face, patting it to his lips with a metallic, medicinal sting. Sam withdrew again. “Sorry…. Sorry.” He murmured gently, in the voice he usually used for distressed hunt victims and widows. No matter what the past held, Sam’s heart bled for the horrors he saw reflected in Gabriel’s eyes.

It took a few more false starts, but Sam got out all the remains of the stitches and soothed the wounds with alcohol.

It took a little longer to get him to the bunker bathroom and a little longer still to get him out of the rags he wore and into a tub of gently warm water.

Sam stood, making to leave the bathroom, when Gabe made his second noise. This time, it was more of a whimper than a whine. Pausing, the younger Winchester came back to the side of the tub, awkwardly folding up his long legs to kneel next to it.

“Do you… do you not want me to leave?” Sam questioned uncertainly. “You want me to stay?”

The nod was barely perceptible, but it was communication, so Sam chalked it up as a victory.

“Alright. Whatever you need, Gabe.”

With a touch surprisingly gentle for such large hands, Sam cleaned the dried blood and dirt from the angel’s body and washed his hair. Gabriel seemed to slowly be starting to trust Sam, letting him touch him without visibly flinching, but he still didn’t talk.

Fetching some of his own clothes, Sam held them up and waited for Gabe’s eventual nod of permission before helping him into them. The pants were ridiculously long, and Sam gave a little chuckle as he leaned down to roll up the bottoms, making the angel look like an overgrown child.

Gabriel jerked at the noise, but when Sam looked up at him he saw a little life in the angels eyes; a tiny fleck that had registered something mildly amusing.

Sam had an idea.

He managed to get Gabe sat on the couch in the bunker, surrounded by blankets. He looked quickly through Netflix for an old comedy movie, selecting _Caddy Shack_ and tuning it on with the volume down fairly low. The angel’s eyes were caught by it and he managed to slip out to hunt through the kitchen.

Returning a few minutes later, he slowly lowered himself to the couch next to the angel. Gabe was still watching him warily, but he already looked better, healthier than a few hours before.

Cautiously, Sam held out the bowl of candy he’d scrounged up in the kitchen.

“I remember you had a bit of a sweet tooth,” he offered gently.

Minutes passed. Gabriel seemed to be studying him, occasionally looking at the candy, but mostly at Sam.

Eventually, a trembling hand came out, snagging a lollipop from the bowl.

Watching the angel look at it longingly for a moment, Sam slowly reached over to unwrap it for him, his movements still cautious, like he was approaching a wounded animal.

He held out the lollipop again; the angel was looking back at Sam again then, searching his face.

Sam pressed the candy gently to Gabe’s bottom lip.

He jolted like he’d been hit; but recovered in only a second, carefully coming forward to wrap his lips around the lollipop. Once it was safely in the archangel’s mouth, Sam let go and leaned back on the couch. He smiled, trying his best to look reassuring and safe.

“Gabriel….” his voice filled with compassion. “I’m so sorry, for everything you’ve been through. Whatever you’ve been through. I can’t pretend to know what it’s like… but after a hundred and eighty years in Hell with your brother, I know a few things about… about trauma.” Sam struggled to say the word out loud, even for himself. “When you want to talk… if you want to talk… I’ll just listen.”

Gabriel just watched him speak. His eyes still rested softly on Sam, as if locking on to the one familiar thing in the room. After an awkwardly long time, he slowly turned his body, angling back towards the TV. The movie played on quietly. Carefully, a bit at a time, Gabriel lowered himself down to rest against Sam, curled up heartbreakingly small next to his side.

“T-thank you…” Gabriel croaked brokenly, his voice rusty and unused and full of pain. “Sam…. Sam Winchester.”

Not knowing how else to help, Sam gently held him about his shoulders, silently feeding him candy while they waited for the wounds in his mind to heal.


End file.
